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AIR Index: Can You Earn Middle-Class Wages Without a Bachelor’s?

While a bachelor’s degree remains a good investment for most students, not all have the time, money, or inclination to complete the degree. Since college tuition rises are outpacing the inflation rate, College Measures, a joint venture of AIR and Optimity Advisers, is studying the value of sub-baccalaureate credentials. Depending on subject studied and location, the project finds that those with associate’s degrees or certificates often out-earn those holding a bachelor’s.

Percent change in bachelor’s degrees awarded in the U.S. between 2008 and 2013: +18

In short-term certificates: +28

In associate’s degrees: +38

In long-term certificates: +64

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Colorado per-capita median income in 2013: $31,000

Median wages earned by those with an associate’s degree: $42,000

By those with a long-term certificate: $49,000

By those with a short-term certificate: $54,000

By those with a bachelor’s: $55,000

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Median earnings of graduates in Colorado with an associate’s of applied sciences in graphic communications: $32,000

Related Work

Postsecondary education delivers many benefits to students who attend America’s colleges and universities and to society in general. But students should explore all of their options, including shorter and less expensive pathways (e.g., subbaccalaureate credentials) to good jobs. Among other findings, this report reveals that many subbaccalaureate credentials can lead to middle-class earnings—sometimes exceeding the earnings of graduates with bachelor’s degrees.

The earnings of recent bachelor's and master's recipients in Texas vary not only by degree but by specific program and institution, according to a recent study prepared by College Measures, a joint venture of AIR and the Matrix Knowledge Group.